The Cost of Complaining (and the Gift of Praise)

• By candidasullivan
• October 30, 2025
• No Comments

Do you vent often and get it all off your chest?

I’m sure we’ve all indulged in a good vent session before—it feels good to get it all out. I’ve done it numerous times and never really thought anything about it.

Until I discovered that complaining floods our bodies with cortisol. Some research even suggests that just sixty seconds of venting can rewire our brains like trauma and strengthen fear pathways. Even one minute of negativity can create hours of hormonal chaos.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t need any more stress, fear, or hormonal problems in my life.

While I can’t confirm every detail of the research, the possibility of it being true makes me want to avoid negativity and complaining at all costs. So, I’m going to break the habit of complaining, venting, and even listening to those things.

If I have a few minutes to talk to someone, I want my conversations to be God-filled. I want to talk about my blessings and how good God is to me. I want to talk about what I’ve read in my Bible or what I’m learning. I also want to hear about others’ experiences with God and glean a little of their wisdom. I want to know what’s going great in their lives.

And if we speak of our hardships, I want it to be in a solution-seeking way. If I share my troubles, I want it to be because I’m requesting prayer, seeking wisdom, or looking for hope in a shared experience.

Life is too precious and beautiful to give the enemy any attention or praise. When we vent or complain, we’re praising the enemy for our troubles.

Gratitude, on the other hand, is praise for my Lord. Whatever we focus on expands, so I’m going to praise God for my blessings, share them, and think about them.

If you think about it, most of us have really good lives. We have an abundance of everything we need. Something bad may happen in our day—it might be one little thing—but we often let it overpower the many blessings.

To do this over and over reshapes our perception of life.

Complaining can be described as evil thoughts. Have you ever noticed how it makes you feel? For me, it brings out the worst part of me. I see the shift in my spirit the moment complaints surface. But there’s also a beautiful shift when I speak words of gratitude.

I love how it makes me feel to praise God for my life and all of the beautiful gifts in it. I love how gratitude feels in my mind and my heart. It makes me feel so loved.

From this moment forward, I want to be intentional with my words, my thoughts, and my conversations. I want to learn to think and speak like God. He gave us a beautiful example in His Word.

Philippians 4:8 (KJV)
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

I am determined to rewire my brain to search for God’s goodness throughout my day. Will you join me?